Flightless Bird
by FrivolousTruffles
Summary: Childhood joy isn't forever. Where there is bright light, there is darkness; where perfection is, lies the impurities. Memories forgotten, old friendships die away. But can one really remember the memories of so long ago? Can friendships carry on when promises have been broken? Apparently, maybe they can. Maybe they can try again, after so long. Modern!AU.
1. Chapter 1: A Flightless Bird

**Flightless Bird**

**Chapter One: ****A Flightless Bird**

* * *

_"Have I found you, flightless bird; jealous, weeping..." _

* * *

"I don't like this place, daddy, it's too big." she pouted, "It's kinda scary,"

Chuckling, her father scooped up her daughter and walked into through the entrance into the illuminated foyer. Her mother followed suit, placing a gentle hand on her daughter's cheek. "I know it's different, sweetheart, but this is our new home now," she smiled, "And I'd be happy if you'd like to look around our new home with me. Can you do that?"

A giant grin replaced her tiny pout. Eyes lighting up, she jumped down from her father's warm embrace and took her mother's hand in hers. "Yeah, yeah! Let's go explore our new home!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Her parents laughed as they followed their little pride and joy.

* * *

A passing year; the next summer was soon replaced by the next autumn. Red, orange, yellow, brown; everywhere she looked, those colors would be right there.

It was different from her old home.

"Mommy, why is everything so colorful? I've never seen so many colors in my _life!_" she kicked a pile of leaves collecting at the edge of the playground and watched in awe as it fluttered away in the wind. "And these leafys! They're so fun to play in. Look, Mommy!" as she jumped into another pile, her mother stepped down onto the mulch-covered ground of the playground.

"Oh I know," she replied, helping her daughter up, "Our old home had a lot of snow, didn't it?" Her daughter nodded quickly in agreement, and she patted her cheek. "Yes, well, things will be different here. No more hunting trips, no more blizzards, no more -"

"No more camping or s'mores?!" she cried, eyes widening in fear.

Her mother smiled and ruffled her daughter's short hair. "No, sweetie. We can always go camping or have s'mores here, but it'll have to be different than before." At her daughter's pout, she cooed, "Aw, don't be sad, sweetheart. It'll be fun, I promise! Now, go and play; it's almost sunset," Her little girl giggled as she ran off, kicking the collecting leaves at the base of the playground.

Senna watched as the multicolored leaves fluttered around her in the wind.

**...**

She watched in deep fascination as the two boys constructed a sandcastle in the sandbox. Red plastic bucket in hand, the chubby one went away packing as much sand as he possibly could, flipping it over and gently producing the sandy cylinder. The other boy -skinnier and more lean- was busy positioning plastic action figures all around their structure.

It amazed the little girl.

"Hey," she said, walking up to the box, "whatcha guys makin'?"

Startled, the two boys looked up from their work and stared at her. Not a moment of silence passed by when the chubby boy spoke up. "We're making a big, big, _big_ sandcastle!" he grinned from ear to ear, bright green eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, " And our toys are gonna defeat the bad guys who try an' break" -he punched the air- "into it!"

She grinned right back. "Ooh, can I play too? Can I please? _Please?_ " she pleaded, jumping up and down.

The chubby boy nodded and motioned for her to step inside, but the other one -the one who's been quiet the entire time- stopped him. "Nuh-uh. No girls allowed remember?" he warned. Turning to face her, he quickly added, "Sorry, but you're a girl. This is only for boys only."

Groans made him scrunch his brow and pout. "Oh c'mon, bro! Just this one time? Please?" chubby asked. Rolling his eyes, he sighed and shrugged, making chubby clap his hands. "Yay! Thanks, bro!" and he gestured for her to step inside the sandbox.

A grin spread across her face as she stepped onto the grainy sand. She plopped down next to the chubby boy and picked up an action figure to start playing, but before she had a chance, it was snatched out of her hands. "No." the other boy warned, "This is my toy. Get your own."

"Deal with it," she retorted, and opened her hand for the toy. The boy just kept on staring daggers at her. She pouted and clenched her fists; this child was seriously testing her patience. "I'm gonna tell my mommy on you if you don't stop," she backfired, causing his eyes to narrow into slits.

"Your mommy? What's she gonna do, scold me? She's not my mom," he retorted.

"Don't make me hurt you," she seethed.

"Pfft, as if."

Her face went warm. As she stood up and nearly marched right over to the ignorant boy, a hand slipped around her wrist. She looked down and met the green eyes of the little chubby boy, relaxing significantly. He shook his head and pulled her down, not once releasing from his grip. "She's new Mako. Why are you being so mean to her? She only wants to play with us," he wearily asked his brother.

No response.

The boy sighed. Turning to her, he apologized, "Sorry, he's sometimes like that." he paused for a moment before adding, "I'm Bolin, by the way. What's your name?"

She smiled. "Korra,"

As they shook hands and exchanged grins, his brother couldn't help but watch in envy.

**...**

"Why are _you_ here?"

Bolin's brother (Korra forgot his name) stood -or rather _towered_- in front of Korra. She still resented him, and last time she checked, his feelings were mutual.

"I go to school here, too. Duh." he rolled his eyes.

Korra's eyes narrowed. "That's not what I meant. I mean, what are you doing _here, _in front of me?" she quickly snapped her head away, pouting and added quietly, "I thought you hated me. Meanie."

The boy sighed, and stuffed his hands inside his pockets. "Look, I'm sorry about the way I've been treating you, Korra," her attention returned at the sound of her name being said, "and I know I may come off as really mean. But I'm not. And I'm sorry."

No response.

"I really am," he pleaded. "I don't mean to be mean. I'm really not, I think."

As he waited, she sighed; thoughts ran through her mind. She was contemplating whether or not this was a cheap phony or an actual apology.

She decided to run along with the second thought. "Okay, whatever," she sighed, crossing her arms and pouting. Nobody has ever done this to Korra, so this... this "apology" of his: it was quite foreign to her. Boys and girls would either befriend her or just stay away.

_Not that I make a lot of friends, anyway, _her immediate thought was.

"So, um... yeah. I'm, ah, Mako, by the way. And... a friend of Bo's should be a friend of mine. Just in case," he softly added. He looked back up at her and removed his hand from his pocket. "So are we friends?"

Korra, still skeptical, studied this boy for a moment. It took her awhile, but there was something about him that marked him as trustworthy. And for some reason, underneath those self-protective layers, she saw that he meant it.

He actually meant it.

Her hand shook his. "Friends," she agreed.

His rare smile was contagious.

* * *

The trio sat in Korra's treehouse. Korra was shamefully looking down at her criss-crossed legs, drinking a juice box. The band-aid on her knee became a simple interest to her all of a sudden.

"What do you mean you're _moving?_" Mako screeched.

"Bro, she means exactly that!" Bolin said, "But _why_ are you moving?!"

Korra just simply shrugged, and Mako went on, "You've lived here for only four years, why only _now_ are you leaving?!"

She threw up her hands in frustration. "I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?!" she screamed, silencing the two brothers, "All I know is that it's because of my daddy's job! He's a Representative from the Southern Water Tribe, remember? He told me that we'd move again in the future, but not this early," Bolin's shoulders slumped and he leaned against the wall of the treehouse. Mako did the same, but kept his eyes on Korra.

She ran a frustrated hand through her hair and let the silence scream.

"Well... do you at least know where you're moving to?" Boling quietly piped up. "Like the Southern Water Tribe again, or something?"

Silence.

"C'mon, Korra, if your dad can tell you that you're moving, he can at least tell you- "

"Ba Sing Se," she interrupted. The brothers stared at her in surprise. "Ba Sing Se, okay? I'm moving to Ba Sing Se." She brought her knees up to her chest and let the tears that she was trying to hold back stream down her face.

Bolin sighed, "So... you're leaving Republic City for... a _bigger_ city? I thought you hated big cities,"

Korra shrugged and buried her face in her the crook of her arms. She didn't need this. She didn't need this at all.

She cried into her arms as Bolin and Mako wrapped their arms around her.

**...**

"I'll miss you guys a lot," she whispered as they both gave her a hug for the umpteenth time. Luggage and possessions in hand, she sorrowfully smiled as they released her.

Bolin was crying, sniffles and all. He desperately tried to wipe the crocodile tears away, tried to calm down a bit and compose himself. But it wasn't working.

And Mako... for the first time in her life, Korra was actually witnessing him shed a few tears and sniffles. He was more composed than his brother, but under any other circumstances, she would've been laughing. Laughing because Mako, the oh-so great, cool guy, was actually tearing up.

Not today.

She wanted to break down. These guys were her bestest-best friends in the entire world, and leaving them meant leaving a part of her behind.

But she had no choice. It had to be done.

"We'll miss you, too, Korra," Bolin cried, his brother nodding in agreement, "We'll write to you and stuff, I promise. _We _promise,"

"And when you decide to come back," Mako added, smiling weakly, "we'll be here, waiting."

Korra smiled. "Promise?" The brothers nodded simultaneously.

"Promise," they said together.

They shared one last group hug, and then Korra was off.

The brothers stared off down the street as their parents called them into the car.

Their promise was never kept.

* * *

**This idea has been lingering in my little noggin for so long now. That feeling when you're listening to a song ("Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron & Wine) and the greatest idea pops into your head... *insert success kid here* Yesss. **

**Hope it sound appealing to some level... My idea was to stick to the storyline while making it a Modern!AU fic, no bending, so that everything is still there... and it doesn't sound...too cliche... or something... Most likely, like my other crap strories, it won't be widely read, but hey, as long as people like and read it, I'll be overly exuberant. :3**

**OHGAHD IF IT'S CLICHE- *chokes***

**Legend of Korra (c) Bryke. Yeah, I don't own anything.**


	2. Clocks

**Flightless Bird**

**Clocks**

* * *

_"Confusion never stops/ closing walls and ticking clocks/ Gonna come back and take you home/ I could not stop that you know now singing..._

_Home, home, where I wanted to go..."_

* * *

The minutes passed. Minutes to hours, hours to days. Weeks. Months.

Years.

Changes here, changes there; children to teens, to young adults. Adolescents with new interests and perspectives in life; no more toys, sandboxes.

First loves, first heartbreaks; first kisses. Drama. Fun times. Friends, enemies.

Ten years.

Her absence was hard to be dealt with. _Their_ absence was hard to be dealt with. It seemed as if the days took an eternity to get by. Her life was quiet, their life was quiet; those missing pieces not once found. They needed to be put together again, but they never were. It was a dark matter that pulled them into nothingness again and again, over and over.

But the years go by. Children and their youth forgotten, like finished and unfinished letters never sent out, but only to be stashed somewhere in the back of a closet. Pictures and souvenirs collected, never to see the light of day again. They grow up.

And over time, her absence was soon forgotten, put away into the depths of their expanding minds. Her presence became unknown again, and as they moved on, so did she. Of course, however, they were reminded of such a friend existing in their lives at one point. But, maturing and growing up changes you, and what came with the perks of living it up came forgetting the little tidbits of the past.

Back into the unknown.

They were forgotten at last, anonymous to their memories.

* * *

**"Clocks" by Coldplay. **

**It was a last minute title, people. It made sense to me, too... :T Anyways, this isn't a chapter; it's more of a... transition, maybe? All I know is that the next chapter just jumped ahead so I'm all, "This is crap, dafuq do I do now?" **

**And this happened. ****The _actual_ chapter two will be posted later. **

**Ps, Legend of Korra (c) Bryke, thus making me unable to partake in owning that show, therefore I cannot make an episode where all the men are shirtless. 'Tis very sad, indeed. Sad me is sad. **

**So um...reviews are still nice though... :) **


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